Vietnam reaffirms commitment to nuclear non-proliferation, disarmament

"There still exists a nuclear stockpile capable of destroying the entire world many times over," Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet said at Thursday's UN Security Council Summit on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Nuclear Disarmament.

    The efforts against nuclear proliferation are currently "undergoing new and complex developments," he said. Vietnam is a non-permanent member of the 15-nation Security Council.

    U.S. President Barack Obama, the first U.S. president to lead a Council meeting, said at the beginning of the Summit that it was important to "address at the highest level a fundamental threat to the security of all peoples and all nations -- the spread and use of nuclear weapons."

   Nuclear-weapon states, military alliances and those countries with major military capabilities bear primary responsibilities, Triet said.

    "We call for an early commencement of negotiations on an international nuclear disarmament agreement in which those countries having largest nuclear arsenals must take a leading role in nuclear disarmament," he said.

    Stressing this as an "urgent task to ensure world peace," Trietalso urged to take other actions, including strengthening the authority of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to ensure nuclear safety and security.

    Triet supported the use of nuclear energy for "peaceful purposes," and said this "should constitute a solid pillar of nuclear non-proliferation regime", Kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.chinaview.cn for full version.